Real Estate Principles Edition 10, Chapter 4

If an owner devotes land to a public use, such as a roadway, a transfer occurs by

common law dedication. (A common law dedication occurs when a landowner devotes land to a public use, as when a roadway is opened to public use or described as such in the deeds to adjoining parcels. pages 87-88)

Which of the following deeds is a security instrumen?

Trsut deed. (The trust deed, also called a deed of trust, can be used when property serves as security for a debt, typically the loan used to purchase the property, but it can be any loan using the property as collateral to guarantee payment of the amount borrowed. page 97).

Private land can be conveyed for public use or ownership by all of these methods EXCEPT

adverse possession. (Private land can be transferred for public use or ownership by common law dedication, in which a landowner devotes land to a public use (such as a roadway); by statutory dedication, in which certain areas (such as an easement) are set aside for intended public use; or by transfer of fee simple ownership by deed (the preferred method of public acquisition as it preserves the public character of the land). Land cannot be acquired for public use by adverse possession.pages 87-88).

Accretion is the process of accumulating new soil

along a flowing body of water. (Land area can be increased by forces of nature; accretion is the process by which land adjacent to a flowing body of water accumulates new soil. page 84).

Land is torn away by the action of water in the process called

avulson. (The natural force of a moving body of water acting gradually or suddenly may tear away land in the process called avulsion; it is distinct from erosion, in which rainfall wears away the surface of the soil.page 84).

The right of government agency to take private property for a public use is called

eminent domain. (Governmental entities have the right to acquire title to property by eminent domain. page 89)

If a person dies without leaving a will, that person dies

intestate. (A person who dies without having made a will is said to have died intestate. All states make provision by law for distribution of the property of intestate persons.page 81)

In order to be valid, a grant deed does NOT require

recording. (There is no legal requirement that a deed be witnessed, that the grantor's signature be verified, or that the deed be recorded in the county recorder's office; nevertheless, such steps are practical necessities to prevent problems.page 92).

A holographic will does NOT have to be

witnessed. A holographic will is one written by hand, dated, and signed by the testator. It does not need to be witnessed, but it must be entirely handwritten; there can be no printed or typewritten parts of the will.page 82).

Which type of deed would be used when the purchaser pays off a loan secured by the real estate?

Reconveyance deed. (A reconveyance deed executed by the trustee is the means by which the trustee returns title to the trustor when the debt secured by the deed of trust is paid off. The beneficiary notifies the trustee that the debt has been cleared by sending the trustee a document called a request for reconveyance. page 98)